Lessons from the Past, Hope for the Future
by jokerswyld
Summary: Harry Potter is alone and thinks he wants to stay that way. A friend changes his mind and helps him learn about himself and his heritage. A postOotP story.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. I own nothing of the HP universe. The only thing I can lay claim to is the plot, the original characters and some made up spells. This is written for my own enjoyment and hopefully yours as well.

"Hello Harry," said a dreamy voice from somewhere close behind him.

Moving his head from where it had been resting comfortably against the trunk of his favourite tree by the lake, Harry Potter looked around behind the tree and saw his friend Luna Lovegood standing there seemingly waiting for him to acknowledge her.

"Hello Luna," Harry replied. "How are you doing today?"

Smiling at him, Luna walked over and sat down beside Harry. "I'm doing fine Harry. How about you?"

"I'm fine," replied Harry automatically. "I need to get going Luna. Sorry."

"Wait Harry," Luna said softly as she reached over and gently grabbed his arm when he started to get up. "I'm sorry for asking you that Harry. If you aren't ready to talk about it, I understand."

Looking into Luna's eyes, Harry could see that she meant what she was saying. Relaxing, he settled back down against the tree and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"I came down here because I thought I wanted to be alone," Harry said suddenly. "Everyone else wanted me to talk about what happened and how I was feeling. Well, most of them did." Harry laughed somewhat bitterly.

"What do you mean Harry?" Luna asked quietly as she shifted her hand from Harry's arm to his hand and held it loosely.

"Well, it's that it was only us 'children' who seemed concerned with how I was doing. And Madam Pomfrey too. But no one else. None of the teachers, not my head of house, and not even the headmaster." Harry laughed again as he almost spat out the last word. "Now I'll just wait until the end of the term and then be shipped back off to my relative's place where I can be conveniently forgotten until September first."

Tightening her grip on his hand comfortingly, Luna looked over at Harry and saw tears running down his face. "I know what it's like to loose someone you love Harry. It's not something that is easy to talk about, and those who haven't lost someone can't even begin to know what it feels like. You'll talk about it when you're ready, and not before."

Sniffing a bit, Harry opened his eyes and looked over at Luna and into her startlingly silvery grey eyes. "Thank you Luna."

Smiling at him, she gave his hand another comforting squeeze, which seemed to startle Harry. He glanced down to where she was holding his hand and jerked his head back up and looked questioningly at Luna, his face reddening slightly.

"Sometimes all you need is a simple comforting gesture from someone who cares about you Harry," Luna answered his look with a smile.

Nodding slightly and smiling back, Harry again rested his head back against the tree.

The sun was shining brightly in the clear sky over head, and a warm breeze caused the lake to ripple slightly. The only sound to be heard aside from the two friends talking was the occasional chirping of a bird up in the tree.

Harry had found this place in his second year when he needed to get away from the rest of the students and their pointing and whispers. He had only ever come out here by himself and hadn't told anyone where it was. Being quite a ways around the lake and far from Hogwarts, it was a very peaceful spot.

Harry didn't know how Luna had found him, but now that she was here, he was actually glad that there was someone there with him. She knew something of what he was going through, and she understood what he needed. Having her hand in his also felt quite nice too.

"Will you be able to do anything over the summer Harry?" Luna asked. "I know you mentioned about going back to your relative's place, but will you be able to go do things or see people? Maybe even have someone come over and visit?"

Laughing bitterly again, Harry looked at her for a moment before answering. "I doubt I'll be allowed out at all this summer Luna. And I've never had anyone come over to visit me before. Most summers, no one even writes to me."

"No one writes to you?" Luna looked shocked. "What about Ron and Hermione, your friends? What about all of your fan mail. I mean," Luna said with a grin at Harry, "you are the Boy-Who-Lived."

"I've never received any fan mail Luna," Harry told her. "The first letter I ever received was my Hogwarts letter. Although," Harry sighed, "you'd think it would have been looked into when it was addressed to my bedroom at the time – the cupboard under the stairs."

Luna's eyes widened in shock. "Are you saying that you lived in a cupboard before you came to Hogwarts?"

Nodding sadly, Harry hung his head a bit and didn't quite look her in the eyes. "Let's just say that if I had known about house elves at the time, I would have been envious of them."

"No one told you of the magical world before you got your Hogwarts letter?" Luna looked more upset than shocked now. "No one told you about your family or your history?"

"I guess it wasn't important at the time Luna. And after everything that's happened, I'm starting to see things a bit more clearly now." Harry said with a hint of steel in his voice.

Reaching over with her free hand, Luna gently grasped Harry's chin and tilted his head up so that he was looking into her eyes. "It is important Harry. You might have been raised by muggles, but you are the last son of a long and important Pureblood family. There are so many things you should have known about before you came here. You never should have been cut off from the magical world. It is a part of who you are, and who you will be."

Harry looked at Luna like he was seeing her for the first time. "Luna, you're different somehow. I don't mean this in a bad way, but you don't seem to be yourself right now. You're not being very 'Loony'"

Grinning quickly, Luna suddenly assumed her usual dreamy smile. "Is this better Harry?"

Harry was shocked. "You mean it's all an act you do? Why drop it now then?"

"Why Harry, because there's no one around right now except those nargles in the tree above us." Luna answered dreamily as she gestured vaguely at the tree above them with her free hand.

Harry looked up quickly and muttered something about mistletoe which caused Luna to giggle.

"But really, you are the only person here at Hogwarts who has not treated me any differently because of how I act. We've only really gotten to know each other this year, but you have always been honest with me and you have never judged me because of what I say or how I acted," Luna told Harry with a smile. "You have so many problems of your own, yet you go out of your way to help others who would not do the same for you. You're noble.. too noble really. You don't judge people, you let them show you their own worth, and then you act on that. And.." Luna hesitated.

"And what, Luna?" Harry asked, his face red from the praise.

"And, I've come to quite like you Harry." Luna finished, blushing.

Blinking in surprise and going even redder, Harry looked into Luna's eyes for a long time causing her to blush even harder. "Luna, you've come to be a good friend to me, one of my best friends really, and I'm honestly surprised that you feel that way about me. I know I'm nothing special, and I don't want.."

"I'm sorry Harry," Luna said quietly, as her smile vanished.

"No, that's not what I mean Luna," Harry told her quickly with a reassuring squeeze of his hand. "You're my friend, and I don't know how I'd feel about anything more between us, but it's something I'd be willing to try and see if it would be possible."

Luna looked up quickly with a smile back on her face as Harry continued. "I'll be honest with you right now though Luna, I'm not really sure about what to do with things. You've most likely heard of the mess I made with Cho. Everything will be new, I'll be learning everything as we go."

"It'll be the same for me too Harry," Luna giggled. "No one has ever wanted to get close to 'Loony' Lovegood before, let alone be my friend.. or more."

"So do you think that maybe for right now, we can just stay sitting here holding hands and talking about things?" Harry asked as he looked at Luna with a smile.

"I think that would be a very nice thing to keep doing Harry," Luna said as she moved a bit closer to Harry so that they were now touching as they sat beside each other under the tree.

Feeling happy for the first time in quite a while, Harry sat there contentedly beside Luna holding her hand. Looking out over the lake, Harry sighed as his thoughts returned to where they had been only a few minutes before.

"Harry, why do you say that you probably won't be allowed out from your relative's place? I know that with everything that's happened, you'll be in danger, but really, would it be any more than anyone else?" Luna asked quietly as she heard Harry sigh.

"Apparently there are blood wards or something around the house," Harry answered. "I'm only safe there because my aunt is the last of my mother's family and the protection my mother gave me when she died protecting me that night keeps working as long as I'm with family. Also, Dumbledore has people watching the house around the clock while I'm there, supposedly for my protection."

"Why do you say supposedly, Harry?" Questioned Luna. "And why would the headmaster of the school do something like that in the summer anyways? He doesn't have any say over what you do then."

Snickering, Harry looked at Luna sadly. "You'd think so, wouldn't you Luna."

"What do you mean Harry?" Luna asked as she returned his look.

"The headmaster was the one who decided to place me with my relatives after my parents were killed Luna," Harry told her. "He placed me there because of these so called protections, and because it would be the 'safest' place for me to be. I guess his definition of safe is a bit different than mine."

Taking a deep breath, Harry continued. "For the ten years that I lived with my relatives before receiving my Hogwarts letter, my 'room' was the cupboard under the stairs. I had a ratty old cot to sleep on and a thin ragged blanket to cover myself with. The clothes I wore were my fat cousin's hand-me downs which were only about five times too large for me. When I was old enough, my aunt started showing me how to cook breakfast for them. When I was a bit older, I took over cooking all of their meals. I also did the majority of the household chores and all of the yard work too."

Seeing Luna's eyes open wide in shock and anger at what she was being told, Harry gave her hand a squeeze before going on. "That's not the worst of it though. My cousin took every chance he could to hit me and his friends did the same. When I was in school, if anyone started to become friendly with me, my cousin and his gang would beat them up and scare them away. Their favourite past time was a game they called 'Harry hunting'. I got to be really good at running because of them. But at home was the worst. I cooked their food and watched them eat. I was lucky to get a scrap of bread in the morning. A lot of times, I went days between eating anything. And then there was my uncle."

Luna felt Harry shudder as he mentioned his Uncle. Not really knowing what to expect after hearing everything so far, she let go of his hand and put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to her. Feeling him tense up momentarily as she put her arm around him, she mentally cursed Harry's relatives for everything they had done to him.

"He.. wasn't a very nice man," Harry continued shakily. "He was rather.. heavy handed with his punishments of me. I can remember hearing him mutter something about 'beating the freakishness' out of me. I never understood what he meant until my eleventh birthday."

Turning, Luna pulled Harry to her and held him close as he shook while trying to suppress the feelings that telling her all of this had brought up.

Harry was surprised when Luna did this. This hug felt nothing like the ones he had received from Hermione, Ginny or even Mrs. Weasley. He didn't feel smothered or awkward. This felt right somehow. This felt good.

"Thank you Luna," Harry whispered into her ear as they held each other, causing her to shiver slightly. "I'm sorry for telling you all of that, but thank you."

"I think I should be saying thank you too, Harry," Luna replied quietly. "How many people have you ever shared that with? Knowing you, I think I might be the first, or maybe the second."

"You're the first I've told the majority too Luna," Harry told her. "I've shared bits and pieces with Ron and Hermione, but never that much. I just.. felt that I could tell you. That you'd understand what I was saying and why I was saying it."

"Anyone else would probably feel sorry for you and want to coddle you, right?" Luna asked with a small grin. "I'll admit, I do feel that a bit, but that's not what you're looking for. You just want to tell someone and have them accept it and acknowledge it."

Harry smiled and hugged Luna tightly for a minute before pulling away to look at her. "That's it exactly Luna. I don't want pity or need to be protected, it's too late for that. I just need someone to talk with."

"Harry, you said Dumbledore placed you there because of blood wards based on your mother's sacrifice. Did he ever tell you what the basis of the sacrifice was?" Luna asked Harry.

Slightly startled at the abrupt change of direction in their conversation, Harry thought for a moment about everything Dumbledore had told him that night he revealed the prophecy to him.

"He said it was my mother's love that protected me from the killing curse," answered Harry.

"If it was love that formed the basis of the protection that saved you, then love would also be the basis of the blood wards." Luna said, almost more to herself than to Harry. "And if the wards were based on love, then the lack of love shown towards you by your relatives should have long ago caused the blood wards to weaken and fall."

Harry looked at Luna in surprise. "Are you telling me that there's really no protection at all at their place from the blood wards? And where did you learn all of that anyways?"

Smiling shyly, Luna looked at Harry and saw that he wasn't making a joke about her knowledge, but was actually interested in knowing.

"Well, I am a Ravenclaw for a reason Harry," Luna said. "As for how I learned, I am taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Those both help to understand how things like wards work. Also, my.. mother's workbooks have a lot of information on wards and protective magics in them. Come to think of it, there's one book that I think you might be interested in seeing Harry."

Looking at her questioningly, Harry motioned for her to continue.

"My mother was an unspea.. um, my mother worked at researching and designing spells. Especially protective spells and wards," said Luna. "In 1979 and 1980, my mother worked with a muggleborn witch not long out of Hogwarts who was especially gifted with charms on creating a protection of some kind against the unforgivables – the killing curse in particular."

When Luna mentioned the years, Harry had thought nothing of it. But when he heard her mention a muggleborn witch not long out of Hogwarts who was gifted in charms, what she was saying became clear.

"Your mother was working with my mother?" Harry asked her excitedly.

Smiling sadly, Luna nodded. "Yes, they were working together. Your mother wanted to come up with new spells to help your father in his job. Being an Auror was dangerous. Especially with things as they were at the time."

"My father was an Auror?" Harry asked with tears starting to form in his eyes again.

"Your father and his best friend were both Aurors," Luna continued. "They were two of the youngest on the force, but they were also two of the most successful. They worked as a team and there weren't many who could stand against them."

"Dad and Sirius were both Aurors and partners there too," muttered Harry quietly.

"Our mothers designed the spells, and your father tested them," said Luna. "Some of them were so powerful that only he could use them properly. Although I'm sure part of the reason for that was because he was a Potter."

Harry looked surprised at that comment. "How would his being a Potter have anything to do with his being able to cast the spells while our mothers couldn't?"

"There's so much you don't know Harry," Luna told him sadly. "I guess it's just assumed that you know because you're a Potter and you're also the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Ya, I get that a lot," Harry said sarcastically, but smiling at Luna to let her know he didn't mean anything by it.

"All of the old Pureblood families have certain things that they are good at," Luna began in an almost lecturing tone. "The Potters, for example, are known to be highly skilled in defensive and protective magics, for being naturally skilled at becoming animagi and to typically be rather more magically powerful than average. My father's family, the Lovegoods, while no where near as old or distinguished as the Potters, is known for it's talent in Arithmancy and Runes, along with having a touch of mage sight and occasionally the Sight."

"How come they don't teach any of this in classes?" Asked Harry. "I would have loved to have known all of this before now. I mean, in the last few minutes, I've learned more about my parents and my family history than I have in my whole five years at Hogwarts."

"I guess it's because anyone who's a Pureblood, Fullblood or Half-blood will usually have been taught all that they need to know about these things before they come to Hogwarts," said Luna. "Also, some of the older families may have traits in their bloodline that they don't want becoming common knowledge, so they wouldn't let anyone else outside of the family know."

"Wouldn't muggleborns and those from newer wizarding families be at a disadvantage then?" Harry asked Luna.

"Not really," she replied. "While a lot of the older Pureblood families tend to be somewhat above average in terms of magical power, muggleborns are usually naturally gifted in something which helps to balance things out. And natural gifts tend to pass on to children. That's how the older Pureblood families ensured that their traits were passed on and strengthened. If two parents have the same strength, it's usually passed on to their child and will usually be stronger than what either of them posses."

Nodding, Harry gazed at Luna until she noticed and returned his look.

"Thank you for telling me all of this Luna," Harry said to her. "I know we kind of got off the topic that we started on, but I'm glad we did. I've learned about my parents and Sirius, I've learned about my family, and I've learned about the wizarding world. Although, I think what I enjoyed the most was learning about the 'real' Luna Lovegood," added Harry with a smile.

"And I've enjoyed learning about the 'real' Harry Potter too," said Luna, returning the smile.

The pair sat there under the tree in silence each with an arm wrapped around the other and just enjoyed the feelings they both had. For Luna, who was familiar with both love and loss, this was similar to what she knew, but felt different. It felt good. For Harry, who had only really known love from his parents before they died, what he was feeling was completely new to him. But he liked it, and it felt right. It felt like it was filling a hole in him that he had never known existed.

Hours later, as the sun fell towards the lake, Harry and Luna rose and walked back towards Hogwarts hand in hand. Their arrival at the castle caused much whispering amongst the other students who noticed them. There was some pointing and even a bit of laughing, but it didn't bother the pair. They made their way to the Great Hall and Luna tugged Harry's hand and led him over to sit at the Ravenclaw table.

The few students who were in the Hall early before dinner went silent as they watched the pair sit together. As more people filled the Great Hall for dinner, Harry and Luna were the topic of conversation on most people's lips.

At the Ravenclaw table, most of the students in Harry's year looked at them and nodded in greeting, but the rest were fairly aloof. Harry looked at Luna questioningly, and she responded with a sad look in her eyes, letting Harry know this was how it usually was for her. Leaning in close, Harry wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close in a comforting way. Luna responded by laying her head on his shoulder and sighing contentedly.

The professors soon entered the Hall and as soon as Dumbledore was seated, the food appeared. Both Harry and Luna were watching the headmaster and noticed him looking at the Gryffindor table in the area where Harry usually sat. They watched him lean over to ask Professor McGonagall something and watched her responded by pointing to the Ravenclaw table.

They watched as Dumbledore appeared to casually look over to the Ravenclaw table and felt his gaze settle on them. Harry returned the headmaster's gaze with a cold glare which caused him to quickly switch his focus to Luna. He was shocked to find the usually flighty girl glaring at him with what appeared to be thinly veiled anger.

Letting his mind reach out to try to see what the cause of such anger directed towards him was, Dumbledore's passive legilimency probe found nothing where Luna was sitting. His surprise showed for a brief second before he regained his composure and sent a more forceful legilimency attack towards her. Again, he found nothing, but this time, he noticed the anger in Luna's eyes had been replaced with mirth as she cocked an eyebrow at him and then winked.

Neither Harry nor Luna ate much at dinner, and were able to leave the Great Hall fairly quickly. Holding hands again, Luna led Harry off through the halls of Hogwarts towards what he assumed was Ravenclaw Tower. Arriving at a portrait he had never seen before of an elderly witch reading from a rather thick book, Luna said the password "Wit beyond measure," and the witch in the portrait nodded slightly before the portrait swung open.

The Ravenclaw common room was empty as Luna led Harry in. Looking around, Harry noticed the differences from the Gryffindor common room. Most noticeable were the colors – blues and bronze. There were many comfy looking chairs and a couple of couches. Almost all available wall space was taken up by book shelves filled with books. Glancing at the titles on some of them, Harry recognized the books required for classes from first through seventh year. Higher up were titles he had seen in the school library, as well as a couple that he knew were from the restricted section.

Absorbed as he was in his examination of the common room, Harry hadn't noticed Luna hurry off up the stairs towards her dormitory. Returning quickly, Luna again took Harry's hand and led him over to one of the comfy looking chairs by the fire. With a grin and a commanding little gesture, Luna motioned for Harry to sit down. He did, and she squeezed into the space beside him.

"This is the journal I was telling you about Harry," said Luna as she placed a magazine sized book on Harry's lap. "It's the one that our mothers were using to record their ideas and progress, as well as some of their completed spells."

Picking up the book and flipping gently through the pages, Harry was surprised that there seemed to be hundreds of pages in it rather than the thirty or so that it looked like it held.

"Brilliant, this is," Harry said looking over at Luna and grinning. "At first I thought it might be a bit small to hold everything you had said it did. I guess I'm still not completely used to all the things that magic can do."

"You can borrow it if you want to Harry," Luna said to him. "All I ask is that you don't let anyone else read it or take it from you.

"I promise Luna, thank you." Said Harry reverently as he again started to look through the book.

"Would you like to know how it works though?" Asked Luna with a smile. "I'd imagine that what you're looking at, while useful to you at school, isn't what you want to read."

Taking a closer look at the pages he was flipping through, Harry's eyes widened a bit as he realized that he was looking at pages taken straight out of one of their school books – The Standard Book of Spells. And from the looks of it, all seven volumes were contained here.

"The idea to disguise their work came from something your father and his friends made while they were here at Hogwarts," said Luna as she smiled at Harry's reaction to what he was reading. "Your mother got a hold of your father's notes on what they had done and how they had done it, and adapted it for my mother's books. It's really rather brilliant."

Grinning as he heard what Luna was saying, Harry quickly pulled out his wand and held it over the book.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry said as he tapped the book with the tip of his wand.

The book and his wand briefly glowed a golden colour before the book opened and writing started to appear on the first page.

_That was a very good guess Harry, but I did not use the same password as your father and his friends used for their map._

Gasping in surprise as he read what his mother had written, Harry smiled and looked at Luna who was also smiling.

"I take it you have your father's map then?" Luna asked with a grin. "It's mentioned in there as the inspiration for the masking spell. Close the book and say 'Raven and Lion' then try tapping the cover with your wand again."

Harry smiled and nodded as he closed the book.

"Raven and Lion," he said as he again tapped the book's cover with his wand.

When he opened the book this time, he was greeted with an introduction to what was in the book along with a legend to help decipher the short-hand notations used through out.

"Thank you Luna," Harry said as he twisted in the chair so he could hug the girl beside him.

It was at that moment that the first of the Ravenclaws started to return from dinner. Cho Chang happened to be the first person to enter and stopped short at the sight that greeted her. The people coming in behind her pushed her out of the way and soon a small crowd was standing by the entrance staring at the happy pair sharing the chair by the fire.

With an indignant snort that got Harry and Luna's attention, Cho stormed up the stairs towards her dorm. Seconds later a door could be heard slamming closed.

Sighing, Harry stood up and helped Luna up out of the chair.

"I guess I had better get going then," he said as he glanced at the faces staring at them. "You'll be alright here tonight?"

"Oh yes," said Luna dreamily. "I'll start looking for my missing things tonight I think."

"Alright then Luna," said Harry as he gave her another quick hug. "I'll see you at breakfast in the morning then?"

"Yes, with butterbeer caps on," answered Luna with a wink.

"Ok. Thank you again for letting me borrow this. I'll take care of it, I promise. Good night Luna." Harry said as he made his way towards the entrance.

The small crowd parted before him as he made his way out. Just as he was exiting the tower, he heard the whispering start up again. For once, Harry Potter didn't care.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry didn't get much sleep that night. His thoughts and dreams kept returning to the Department of Mysteries and what had happened there two nights ago. Thoughts of the two empty beds in the Gryffindor fifth year boy's dorm also bothered him. Neville and Ron should have been there sleeping and snoring loudly, but they were both spending the night in the Hospital wing again because of their injuries.

Also, thoughts of Luna had now started to play in his mind. He remembered how they had spent the day together and what they had talked about. The feeling of contentment and peace he had while they were sitting together under the tree helped to quiet his darker thoughts for a while, but it wasn't enough.

Getting up, Harry quietly made his way to his trunk and opened it. Pulling out the book Luna had let him borrow, he quietly left the dorm and made his way down to the common room and sat in his favourite chair by the fire. Pulling out his wand, he muttered the correct words and tapped the book's cover with his wand before opening it. Flipping through the pages, he was surprised at the length of the journal. Going back to the beginning, he started reading.

The first part that he started reading that night told about the Marauder's Map and the enchantments necessary to create it or something similar. Next was section detailing the books from the Potter family vault which were used as reference material. Also, there was a note in what Harry had come to recognize as his mother's writing that mentioned how only a Potter wearing the family ring could access the books in the vault.

Quickly finishing the first section, Harry moved onto the next part which covered their work on developing shielding spells and showed the resulting spells. The very first one looked extremely promising. They had called it the 'Aegis Shield' and it was a shielding spell which was much stronger than the common Shield charm. Reading it over, Harry was amazed at what their mothers had created. On the surface, it was a relatively simple charm, but reading deeper into the theory, he saw that it was extremely complex and was a combination of charms and warding.

Getting to where it described how to cast the spell, Harry decided to try it. The spell looked simple enough to do. Making a circular motion with the wand while saying 'Aegis,' would cause a silvery oval barrier to form around the person casting the spell. Another note from his mother mentioned that while it looked simple, the spell took a lot of power to cast, and only his father and a few others had been able to successfully cast it properly.

Grinning as he stood, Harry moved into the center of the common room and quickly cast silencing spells all around him so that any noise he made wouldn't disturb anyone else. Checking the procedure for casting the spell one last time, Harry made the circular motion with his wand and said "_Aegis_."

A flickering silvery oval briefly appeared around him and lasted for a second before fading. Trying again, the shield stayed for a few seconds longer. A third try and there was a lot less flickering. After his fifth try, Harry was starting to breathe a bit heavier. He could feel that this was a powerful spell he was trying to cast. Thinking that maybe he was holding back too much, he tried the spell again. This time, with the desire to succeed and his determination fueling the casting, along with a lot more of his magic, the shield appeared. It was a solid silvery colour all over with no sign of flickering anywhere. Concentrating on holding the shield up, Harry found that it took far less energy to maintain the shield than it did to cast it.

A full minute passed before he let the shield drop. A second later he staggered back over to his chair and flopped into it. Closing the book, he stood up slowly and dragged himself up the stairs back to his dorm where he fell onto his bed and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

In what seemed like no time what so ever, Harry was awakened by a stream of sunlight coming in through the dorm's large window. Realizing that it must be almost time for breakfast, he got up quickly and went about his morning routine as fast as possible. Finishing quickly, he ran down the stairs to the common room with his shirt untucked and his hair still dripping wet from his hasty shower, Harry hurried out of Gryffindor tower and made his way to the Great Hall to meet up with Luna for breakfast.

Entering the hall, Harry looked around and realized that he was early. Still, there were some early risers sitting at their house tables who were starting to eat. Looking at the Ravenclaw table, he immediately spotted Luna sitting alone near the end closest to the doors. Walking over, he slipped into place beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in close.

"Good morning Luna," said Harry with a smile.

"Good morning Harry," Luna replied. "How was your late night reading?"

"What makes you think I was up late reading?" Harry asked as he started to fix himself a plate for breakfast.

"The way you hurried in here this morning and your appearance, tell me that when you woke up you thought you were late and you rushed," said Luna with a grin. "So how much did you read?"

"I read the part about the spells on the Marauder's Map, learned that there is a Potter family ring and vault which has books in it, read about the Aegis Shield and then practiced it," replied Harry. "That is one draining spell to cast, let me tell you."

"You managed to cast the Aegis Shield?" Luna asked with some astonishment. "Were you able to get it to fully form?"

"If you mean completely silvery with no flickering, then yes," Harry answered. "I finally got it on my sixth try and managed to hold it up for about a minute."

"You're definitely a Potter then," Luna teased. "I could only get it to stay up for a few seconds, and it was flickering a lot too."

"Well," started Harry, "since it looks nice out again today, maybe after breakfast we can go back to the tree by the lake and do some practicing?"

"That sounds like a good idea," agreed Luna. "Maybe we could bring some food out with us so we don't have to come back for lunch?"

"That'll be nice Luna," said Harry. "It will be nice to stay away from all of the people here again today. Well, all except you," he added.

Smiling, she turned and hugged him. "Let's finish up here and then we can get going."

They quickly finished their breakfast and walked out of the Great Hall holding hands. This time, Harry led Luna back to Gryffindor Tower. When they reached the picture of the Fat Lady, Harry gave the password, "Seeing is believing," and led Luna into the Gryffindor common room.

This time it was Luna who took the chance to look around and see the differences between the house common rooms while Harry quickly made his way up the stairs to the fifth year boy's dorm to get the journal.

While Harry was upstairs, Luna was examining the pictures on the common room walls. Hearing the portrait of the Fat Lady open, she turned to see Ginny Weasley walk in.

"Hello Ginny," said Luna in her dreamy voice. "How are you feeling?"

"Luna, hi," exclaimed a surprised Ginny. "I'm all better now. Madam Pomfrey fixed my ankle but just let me out this morning. How come you're in our common room?"

"I'm waiting for Harry to come back down from his dorm," replied Luna.

"Why are you waiting for Harry?" Asked Ginny.

"Because we're going out to the lake today," answered Harry as he made his way down the stairs. "Ready Luna?"

"Let's get going then," Luna said with a grin. "The Nargles won't stay around much longer."

Smiling at Luna, Harry reached out to take her hand. Leading the way, he looked back over his shoulder just as they were leaving the tower.

"Bye Ginny," said Harry. "I'm glad you're better."

Ginny just stood there in shock with her eyes open wide in surprise staring at the spot where her two friends had just been.

"Harry and Luna?" she asked herself as she shook her head and made her way up to her dorm.

Out in the hallway, Harry and Luna smiled at each other as they made their way towards the Hogwarts' kitchen. Reaching their destination, they made their way in and were immediately swarmed by house elves bearing trays of food and drink. Looking around, Harry spotted one particular house elf quickly making his way over to them.

"Hello Dobby, how are you?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Dobby is fine Harry Potter sir," replied the excitable house elf as he wrapped his arms around Harry's legs and hugged him. "Dobby is so happy that Harry Potter is coming to visit him. Is there anything that you would be needing Harry Potter sir?"

"First, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine Dobby," Harry said as he gently detached Dobby from his legs. "This is Luna. She's a really good friend of mine. Luna, this is Dobby. He's another really good friend of mine."

The house elves around them stopped and looked at the trio in wonderment. Had they actually just heard a wizard call a house elf a really good friend? Slowly, they started going back about their work.

Dobby just stood there in shock as he heard Harry tell Luna that he was one of his really good friends. With his eyes tearing up in joy, he wrapped his arms around Harry's legs again and almost toppled him over.

"Harry Potter sir is too kind," Dobby cried. "Calling me his 'really good friend' and coming to visit."

"Well you are," replied Harry. "If it hadn't of been for you, I never would have had a chance during the second task of the tournament. And I know in second year you were just trying to protect me, so I can't really be upset at you for that."

"You have quite the variety of friends Harry," Luna said suddenly with a grin. "House elves, a half-giant, veela, and a werewolf."

"See," cried Dobby with a big smile as he looked up at Luna, "Harry Potter is a great wizard."

"I know he is Dobby," Luna said, causing Harry to blush.

Regaining his composure a bit, Harry again untangled Dobby from his legs and looked at the bouncy house elf.

"Dobby, do you think you could do Luna and me a favor?" Asked Harry. "We'd like to spend the day outside by the lake and were hoping to bring some lunch and snacks out with us so that we didn't have to come back until dinner."

"No problem Harry Potter sir," Dobby exclaimed as he raced off back into the throng of working house elves.

It was easy to follow Dobby's progress because of the brightly colored knitted hat he wore. In a matter of minutes, he was back standing in front of them holding a fairly large basket that was filled to over flowing with stuff.

"That's perfect Dobby, thank you," Harry said as he reached out with his free hand to take the basket from the house elf.

"Dobby hopes you and Miss Luna enjoy your day by the lake, Harry Potter sir," said Dobby with a slight bow. "You needs to get out and be happy after what you two has been through."

Frowning slightly, Harry looked at Dobby.

"What do you know about what happened recently?" Harry asked.

"All house elves be knowing about what happened in the toady professor's office and that you two, the two Weezeys and Miss Granger left the school on the death horses." Replied Dobby in a somewhat subdued voice. "We is knowing that you went to the Ministry and fought d..d..death eaters and faced h..h..him there. Also, we is knowing about your Snuffles and what happened to him. We is sorry, Harry Potter sir."

"It's alright Dobby," Harry said quietly. "And thank you."

Luna gave Harry's hand a reassuring squeeze which caused him to look up and into her eyes. Smiling, she squeezed his hand again then turned her gaze back to the house elf.

"Dobby, would you like to join us today out by the lake?" Asked Luna. "Harry needs good friends around him right now, and we'd like it if you would come."

"I would be loving to come with you and Harry Potter sir, Miss Luna." Dobby said excitedly. "Just I wouldn't want to be in the way."

"You wouldn't be Dobby," said Harry. "Come out with us."

"Thank you, Harry Potter sir," Dobby said excitedly as he followed the two teens out of the kitchen.

The trio made their way out of the castle accompanied by stares and whispers whenever they passed anyone. Unconcerned by it all, they made their way down to the lake and walked around to Harry's tree, where Dobby snapped his fingers and a soft blanket was spread out on the ground for them to sit on.

Setting the basket down, Harry and Luna sat down on the blanket while Dobby wandered around the area occasionally bending down like he was looking at something. Pulling out the journal, Harry said the correct words and tapped the cover with his wand. As Harry was opening the book, there was a flash of blue light from somewhere off to their right. Looking, Harry and Luna saw a faint blue glow around Dobby that faded as they watched. With a huge smile on his face, Dobby came back over to the pair on the blanket and sat down with them.

"What did you just do Dobby?" asked Harry curiously.

"I be putting up a house elf's notice-me-not around us, Harry Potter sir," Dobby explained with a smile.

"What exactly is a notice-me-not Dobby?" Luna asked.

"I is guessing you would be calling it a house elf version of a wizard's ward," said Dobby. "We is using it when we needs to be doing things and not be seen. This way, Harry Potter sir and Miss Luna can practice their magics without being disturbed."

"That's brilliant Dobby," said Harry happily. "Thank you. Umm.. Dobby, do you think that you could teach us how to do that?"

"Dobby is not knowing, Harry Potter sir," Dobby said somewhat hesitantly. "Us house elves is not to be knowing wizard magics, so we is keeping our own magics to ourselves. I is not knowing if it is even possible for a wizard to use our magics. But.. Dobby will try, if Harry Potter sir would like him to."

"I don't want you getting in trouble for doing something you're not supposed to Dobby," said Harry.

"I is not going to be getting in trouble Harry Potter sir," Dobby said, "but I is not knowing if wizards be able to do our magics."

"Well, we can try Dobby," said Luna with a smile at the house elf. "If it is possible, I think that between the three of us we can figure it out. If not, well, then that's alright too."

"I is thinking that Harry Potter sir might be able to pick up on our magics more easily than you, Miss Luna," said Dobby. "He is already knowing the most important part already."

"What would that be Dobby?" Harry asked.

"You is knowing the proper feeling," explained Dobby. "Wizards and witches use magic. They is being the ones in control of the end effect. Our way is different. We is asking magic to be doing things for us."

"But you said I already know the proper feeling," questioned Harry. "How does having the right feeling mean that I could ask magic to do something?"

"You is not understanding right, Harry Potter sir," Dobby said shaking his head a bit. "House elves must be humble when they is asking magic to help them. They must feel like they is no good and not worth being noticed. Most masters treat us that way so it is being easy for us to feel that."

Understanding and sadness appeared on Harry's face as he listened to Dobby explain how house elves did their magic. Understanding of how he would already be familiar with the feelings and sadness because of it.

"When we is wishing to be doing some magics," continued Dobby, "we bring up the feelings and look into our magic and ask it to please do for us what we need."

"What do you mean by looking into your magic?" Luna asked.

"Wizards is calling it their magical core, Miss Luna," said Dobby. "All magical beings and creatures is having one, and with practice, those who can use magics can learn to look into their magic."

"Dobby," began Harry, "would this be anything like when a young witch or wizard does accidental magic? Because that is basically their magic reacting to their need, isn't it?"

"Yes!" cried Dobby jumping up and down excitedly. "Harry Potter sir is understanding. Our magics is just like a wizard's accidental magic, just more focused and specific because we is knowing the desired result and that is what we is asking it for."

"The only problem I can see then," said Luna, "is that by now we've learned to control our accidental magic outbursts. Most have by the end of their second year here."

"Um, not everyone has," Harry said as his face reddened in embarrassment.

"You still do accidental magic Harry?" Luna asked surprised? "It mainly only occurs when a young witch or wizard's magical core is growing, which is usually only up until the time they enter Hogwarts, and for a brief time usually just before they leave."

"Harry Potter sir's magic is still growing?" Dobby asked in amazement.

"I don't know about that Dobby," Harry said, "but as for the accidental magic, I've been doing some every year since I've come to Hogwarts. Mostly when my emotions are running high though."

"That's normally when it would happen for everyone Harry," said Luna, "but it usually stops sometime in our first or second year. Doing magic with a wand focuses it and teaches us control. My last bit of accidental magic was in my first year at Hogwarts. I haven't done any since then."

"Ah, bloody hell," muttered Harry. "Can't I be normal in anything?"

"Dobby could check Harry Potter sir's magic if him is wanting me to," said Dobby quietly. "House elves is not doing it often, but we can be examining a wizard's magic and check if there are problems with it. Mostly we be doing this for the children of our masters."

"Do you think you could Dobby?" Harry asked hopefully. "I'm not your master, so would you still be able to do it for me?"

"Yes I is being able to do it for you Harry Potter sir," Dobby said proudly. "I is being a free elf and Harry Potter sir's friend, but I is hoping to one day be Harry Potter sir's elf, if he will have me."

"I.. you.. what?" Harry sputtered in confusion and amazement at the elf's words. "Dobby, you want to be my elf? Why? I though you liked being free?"

"Harry Potter sir is not wanting Dobby?" asked the house elf as he seemed to shrink.

"No, Dobby, I didn't say that," said Harry quickly. "I'm just surprised that you'd want to be someone's elf again. I thought you liked being free."

"You would take Dobby as your elf, Harry Potter sir?" asked Dobby hopefully and somewhat formally.

"Yes Dobby," said Harry. "I'd be happy to have you as my elf."

As Harry said these words, a faint blue glow appeared around Dobby and seemed to extend out towards Harry. As the glow reached him and surrounded him, it seemed to flicker for a second before changing to a vibrant jade green color and glowing extremely brightly. When the glow disappeared a few seconds later, Dobby was standing in the same place, but was looking up at his new master with awe in his now jade green eyes.

"Master Harry sir, you.. is.." stammered Dobby. "You is a very powerful wizard. I is honored to be your elf."

"What just happened Dobby?" asked a stunned Harry.

"When you was accepting my offer to be your elf, you was completing the link between us," Dobby explained. "Completing the link caused my magic to reach out to your magic and merge with it. I is never knowing any other house elf who had such a strong reaction to their master's magic."

"Will you be alright Dobby?" Luna asked, still a bit awed herself from the display she had just witnessed.

"Yes Miss Luna, Dobby will be much better than alright," said the excited elf. "I is never been feeling this good before."

"So how powerful is Harry then?" asked Luna with a smile at Harry.

Dobby turned back to face Harry and seemed to shrink again as his face took on a look of extreme concentration. Holding out an arm, he pointed a finger at Harry's chest and looked up into his master's eyes. The jade green glow surrounded the two again and was just as bright as the first time, but this time, three black and many grey lines appeared around Harry that looked a lot like chains. There was also one that appeared to be a golden color but it was thinner and much fainter than the others. Dobby's eyes widened in shock as he saw these lines. A second later, the glow vanished.

"You is very powerful, Master Harry," began Dobby. "You is already almost twice as powerful as my old master would have been without the dark one's mark on him."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise as he heard Dobby tell him that he was much more powerful than Lucius Malfoy.

"What were those lines around Harry? Luna asked.

"Them was being magical bindings of one sort or another," Dobby replied sounding angry. "The only one that was not meant to be harmful to Master Harry sir, was the golden one. That was being the remains of a magical binding cast by Master Harry's mother to contain strong accidental magic. It should have been removed when Master Harry was first coming to Hogwarts."

"What were the others then Dobby?" Harry asked. "I know I saw quite a few black and grey lines too along with the one gold one."

"The grey lines are also binds on your magic, but are meant to contain or suppress gifts from your family," said Dobby. "The black ones are very bad. One is a bind on your magic itself causing it to not grow to its full potential. One is a bind, but more focused on your wand than on you. It has something to do with learning and limiting. The last is much like the dark one's mark my old master had. It is a connection to him, but it is different. It seems to work both ways rather than just feeding him with your magic."

"Alright, I understand where that last one comes from," said Harry. "That's my connection with Voldemort."

"But what about the others Dobby?" asked Luna with concern in her voice. "Do you know who put them on Harry? And is there a way to remove them? Could you?"

"I is being able to remove all of the bindings Miss Luna," began Dobby hesitantly. "But I will only remove two from Master Harry sir now if he will let me."

"Why won't you remove all of them if you're able to Dobby?" Harry asked. "And you never said who placed them there."

"Dobby is only removing the mother binding and the dark one's connection because they is the only two safe to remove right now," Dobby said. "I will not remove the rest so close to he who cast them and endanger Master Harry."

"But who cast them Dobby?" asked Harry who was becoming annoyed at Dobby's evasiveness.

"Headmaster Dumbledore is the one who be casting bindings on Master Harry sir," Dobby said with a glance up towards the castle.

"But why would.." began Luna, but was cut off by Harry's outburst.

"THAT MANIPULATIVE OLD BASTARD! HE LIED TO ME AGAIN!" Harry yelled. "He said no more lies, that he wouldn't keep anything else from me.. THE BASTARD!"

Luna and Dobby both looked at Harry and backed away from him slowly as a brilliant jade green aura flickered and flashed into life around Harry as he yelled out his anger at the Headmaster. They backed up another few steps as the air around Harry seemed to come alive with tiny flickers of lightning. Suddenly there was the sound of an alarm bell ringing and Luna and Dobby looked on in awe as the area around Hogwarts flashed blue, red, green, yellow and silver.

"Not good, not good," yelled Dobby as he gestured at the blanket and picnic basket, causing them to vanish. "Master Harry Potter sir must calm down and him and Miss Luna must take Dobby's hands right now."

Looking over at his house elf, Harry noticed for the first time the fright on the little elf's face. He also heard the alarm bell and saw the colors flickering around the castle. Calming quickly, he grabbed one of Dobby's hands just as Luna took the other. With a small pop, the three vanished.

They appeared with a pop in an empty room and Harry and Luna immediately fell to the ground gasping in pain.

"I is sorry Master Harry and Miss Luna," said Dobby, "but Master Harry caused the wards to activate and the alarm to sound. You could not be found there. I was doing the only thing I could think of to keep you safe."

"Thank you Dobby," Harry said as he stood up and reached down to help Luna to her feet.

"Master Harry and Miss Luna must go back to their common rooms and say they was in the come and go room if they is asked," Dobby continued. "The professors will be checking the castle and also going to where the wards were attacked."

"Who attacked the wards?" asked a confused Harry.

"I think you did Harry," said Luna quietly. "When you found out who cast the remaining bindings you got very angry and seemed to lose it. Your magic flared and formed an aura around you. Then it looked like lightning was flickering around you. That's when the bell sounded and the wards came to life."

"Me?" Harry moaned. "I did it?"

"Hurry," cried Dobby. "Master Harry and Miss Luna must leave and go now."

"Right," said Harry as he focused on what was happening at that moment. "Come on Luna, let's get back to Gryffindor tower. We'll just tell them we were doing some practicing in the room of requirement when the alarm sounded."

"Bye Dobby, and thank you," said Luna as they ran to the door.

"You is being welcome Miss Luna and Master Harry," Dobby said before he popped out of the room.

Harry and Luna ran through the empty halls towards the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. They came to a stop in front of the painting of the fat lady, which opened as Harry quickly said the password. Harry entered first, followed by Luna, and stopped when he came face to face with his head of house, Professor McGonagall.

"Where have you been Potter? And why is Miss Lovegood with you here and not in the Ravenclaw common room where she should be?" Professor McGonagall asked as she regarded the two.

"We were in the room of requirement Professor," replied Harry. "Luna came back here with me because our common room was closer than hers."

"And just what were the two of you doing in the room of requirement in the first place?" Professor McGonagall questioned.

"We were practicing Professor," said Harry. "I was showing Luna things from the O.W.L. exams. And.."

"And what, mister Potter?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"And, we were talking about what happened at the Department of Mysteries," continued Harry. "About Sirius, and also about our parents."

The stern look on Professor McGonagall's face softened.

"Very well then. I shall inform Professor Flitwick of your whereabouts Miss Lovegood," said Professor McGonagall before turning to face the crowded Gryffindor common room. "Everyone is to remain here. Prefects make sure no one leaves. I will let everyone know when it is safe to leave."

Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, Harry led Luna over to his favorite chair by the fire and flopped down into it and pulled her down to sit beside him.

A/N: As of 09-01-07 I've gone back and corrected a few minor spelling and grammer mistakes. Nothing else has changed. Thank you for the reviews. The next chapter is in the works, but I'm kind of stuck. Don't know when it'll be up.


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